Thermostatic mixing valve



July 26, 1955 A 3555 2,713,972

THERMOSTATIC MIXING VALVE Filed July 17, 1955 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l Loj Y J 3 Alvin 5.6491196 INVENTOR.

July 26, 1955 A. E. GEISE 2,113,972

THERMOSTATIC MIXING VALVE Filed July 17, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Alvin E. Geise INVENTOR.

United States Patent THERMOSTATIC MIXING VALVE Alvin E. Geise, Yakima, Wash., assignor of twenty per cent to Gordon A. Geise and twenty per cent to Marjorie Likely Application July 17, 1953, Serial No. 368,730

6 Claims. (Cl. 23612) This invention relates generally to mixing devices and pertains more specifically to a temperature responsive water mixing chamber particularly adapted for use in showers and the like.

A primary object of this invention is to provide an improved form of mixing assemblies which incorporates a compound movement in the valve and temperature responsive mechanism to provide a more eifective and sensitive control.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved water mixing assembly provided with a pair of valve members disposed in concentric relation with each other and through which the hot and cold water is passed, the two members being mounted for independent rotation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the novel mixing assembly;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the assembly with its cover removed, showing the details of its internal construction on an enlarged scale; 7

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken substantially along the plane of section line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken substantially along .the plane of section 4-4 of Figure 3, showing details of the temperature responsive valve control on an enlarged scale;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the valve assembly, the parts being shown in exploded relation on an enlarged scale;

Figure 6 is a transverse section taken substantially along the plane of section line 66 of Figure 5, showing details of the valve sleeve on an enlarged scale; and

Figure 7 is a transverse section taken along the plane of section line '7-7 of Figure 3, showing further details of the valve assembly.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 10 indicates the main body portion or housing of the assembly which is of box-like construction and is provided with a cover 12 to form an open chamber within the housing. A thermostat mechanism 14 is provided with a threaded mounting shaft 16 by means of which it is suitably secured to the housing pin so that its expansible portion 18 is disposed within the chamber, the plunger head 20 being reciprocable in response to expansion and contraction of the portion 18. An actuating lever 22 is pivotally received on the rocker shaft 24 extending between the bracket members 26 and 28 which are properly positioned by the spacing member 3t and secured to the housing by means of the fastener 32. This lever is provided at its upper end with an enlarged head portion 34 which abuts against the lice plunger 20 and upon which the coil spring 36 engages for a purpose presently apparent.

The lower portion of the actuating lever is of open segmental. construction, having the radius legs 38 and 40 joined by the toothed segment 42 which is engaged with a pinion 44 having a shoulder portion 46 rotatably received in the bracket 26. This pinion is also provided with a shank portion '43 which is received in a longitudinal recess of the shaft 50 and is secured thereto by the setscrew 52. The shaft 50 is provided with an enlarged portion 54 which is of tubular construction and which is provided with diametrically opposed openings or slits 56 to provide a valve body member as will presently appear.

The enlarged valve body 54 is concentrically received within the valve sleeve 58 whose opposite end. is provided with a reduced portion 6i) and a further reduced portion 62 which is provided with a slot 64. The portion 60 is journalled in the cover member 12 and the portion 62 is provided with an actuating handle 66 for rotating the valve sleeve. The open end 68 of the valve body member terminates short of the closed end 70 of the sleeve and this closed end is provided with quadrantal discharge openings 72 whereas an intermediate portion of the sleeve is provided with a diametrically opposed triangular inlet opening '74. This intermediate portion of the sleeve is journalled within the circular gland housing 76 provided with inlet bosses 78 and 80, receiving the inlet tubes 82 and 84, extending through opposite sides of the housing 10 to rigidly secure this assembly in place. The gland housing is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed vertically disposed partition walls 86 and 88 each of which sealingly engages against the outer surface of the sleeve 58, this sealing engagement being extremely important inasmuch as the inlet members 82 and 84 are connected to hot and cold water sources respectively. For the purpose of preventing longitudinal displacement of the sleeve with respect to the housing, a stop collar 93 is suitably secured to the sleeve and engages against one of the walls of the gland housing.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 2, reference numeral 92 indicates a mounting plate which journals anadjusting shaft 94 whose outer end projects outwardly of the cover 12 and is provided thereon with an actuating knob 96. On the other side of the cover, this shaft is provided with a gear 98 meshing with an idling indicating gear 100 secured to the shaft 102 which is also rotatably received in the plate 92. Gear 100 in turn meshes with a pinion 104 rigidly secured to the portion 60 of the sleeve assembly 58. The cover 12 is provided With a window 106 and a pointer 108 so that when the actuating knob 96 is turned, the idler gear and its indicia will sweep past the pointer 108, the indicia being suitably calibrated to indicate the temperature of the water discharged from the mixing assembly. The shaft 94 is provided with a cam lever disposed on the opposite side of the plate 92 which engages against the free end of the spring 36 to vary the tension of the same on the same on the enlarged head 34 of the actuating lever 22.

The housing 10 is provided with a suitable discharge fitting 166.

.In operation, hot water enters the assembly by means of theh pipe 82 and cold water enters through the pipe 84, each of which is in communication with the gland housing 76, each one of the triangular openings 74 in the valve sleeve is in communication either with the hot or cold water and thus water will enter therethrough and through the slits 56 in the valve body member into the interior of the valve assembly and will flow outwardly therefrom through the discharge opening 72 in the valve sleeve to fill the chamber in the housing and flow outwardly therefrom through the discharge means 106. The

temperature of the water within the housing will cause expansion or contraction of the movable portion 18 of the thermostat which will effect reciprocation of the plunger 20 and consequently rotation of the actuating lever 22 which will impart corresponding rotation to the valve body member 54 through the rack and pinion arrangement previously described. The valve sleeve, remaining stationary, will allow more or less of the slits 56 to be exposed to the incoming water by virtue of the triangular configuration of the inlet openings 74. Assuming that the thermostat is expanding to the right in Figure 2, in response to progressively hotter condition within the housing, the actuating lever 22 will be rotated in a clockwise direction which will impart counter-clockwise rotation to the valve body member 54 to move the cold water slit 56 with respect to its opening 74 in the valve sleeve, allowing more cold water to enter the valve assembly while at the same time on the opposite side of the valve assembly, the hot water slit is made smaller by reason of the configuration of the sleeve opening 74 so that less hot water enters the valve assembly, thus reducing the overall temperature of the mixture. The ultimate temperature will, of course, be controlled by the pretensioning disposed upon the coil spring 36 which determines the balance point between the coil spring and the thermostat plunger 20.

However, an important feature of the invention resides in the particular relationship existing between the pretensioning adjustment to the coil spring and the rotation of the sleeve which are simultaneously effected by rotation of the adjusting knob 96. This relationship results from the fact that the gearing between the actuating shaft or adjusting shaft 94 and the valve sleeve 58 is such that rotation of the knob 96 effects a relative rotational action between the valve sleeve 58 and the valve body member 54 in the same direction as the knob is turned, that is, should the knob 96 be turned counter-clockwise to efiect a colder condition of the water within the chamber. That is, the lever arrangement on the shaft 94 acting on the coil spring 36 is such that counter-clockwise rotation of the knob 96 will effect a lessening of tension on the spring. This will allow the actuating lever 22 to move in a clockwise direction a slight amount While at the same time the valve sleeve 53 is positively actuated through the gear train in a clockwise direction, which positive motion will be greater than the motion allowed the valve body member 54, thus allowing for more cold water to be delivered through the valve mechanism.

Of course, manipulation of the control valve may be effected through the handle 66, manually.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explana- CJI tion is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A hot and cold Water mixing assembly comprising a housing, a valve sleeve rotatably received in said housing, a valve body disposed concentrically of said sleeve and rotatable with respect thereto, said sleeve having hot and cold water inlet apertures, said body having openings registerable with said apertures, temperature responsive means for moving said body, means for resisting motion of said body, means for adjusting said resisting means, said last means being connected to said sleeve for imparting rotation thereto.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the apertures in said sleeve are of triangular configuration and the openings in said body are of elongated rectangular configuration.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein said sleeve is also provided with discharge openings at one end thereof.

4. The combination of claim 1, wherein a gland housing embraces said sleeve in surrounding relation to said aperture, said gland being partitioned and provided with hot and cold water inlet members communicating with the chambers in said gland formed by said partitions.

5. The combination of claim 4, wherein said inlet members are of elongated tubular construction and extend through opposed walls of said housing.

6. A mixing chamber assembly comprising a housing, a thermostat in said housing, a valve housing member movably mounted in said chamber housing, a valve body disposed within said housing member and movable therein, hot and cold water inlets connected to said housing member, said housing member having a discharge opening therein communicaitng with the interior of said chamber housing, said valve body being connected to said thermostat for movement thereby, resilient means resisting movement of said valve body, means for varying the tension of said resilient means, said valve housing member being connected to the last mentioned means for movement thereby.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lawler Feb. 13, 1945 

